Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-05-05
ANOTHER IDEA.

Noted Trainer OF Horses Says They are
the Most Stupid of Animals, and Tells
How He Teaches Them Tricks.
M. Loyal, who has been ring-master
of the leading Paris circus for thirty
two years, supplies interesting infor-
nation concerning horses. 1.-The
horse" he says, contrary to general
belief, is the most stupid animal on
earth. He has only one faculty-mem-
ory You must teach him his exercises
with the cavesson and the long whip.
Having forced them into his head, you
must use the short whip when he re-
sists and give him a carrot when he
obeys. Whips and carrots form the
secret of the trainer. The horse must
be from five to seven years old; before
that age he is too spirited,
after it his muscles are not
elastic enough. The first thing to
do is to accustom your horse to the
ring, to make him run round regularly,
and then to stop at given signal.
To accomplish this, the animal is
brought into the ring. The trainer
holds in his left hand a tether which is
passed into the cavesson, a kind OF
iron crescent armed with sharp points
fixed on the nose of the horse; in his
right hand he holds the long whip.
Behind the animal an assistant, with a
stout short whip. is posted. The
trainer calls on the horse to start, and.
pulling his tether and smacking his
long whip, forces him to gallop round.
IL he refuses, the assistant uses
his whip also; if he is obedient
he is rewarded with a
carrot. To make him stop short the
trainer cracks his long whip again.
while the assistant with his short whip
throws himself suddenly in front of the
animal and the result is obtained. !"
M. Royal tells us that 1.-THE horse has
great objection to kneeling or lying
down at any moment. This feat is laugh
by means of iron bracelets placed on
his ankles and attached to tether
held by the trainer, who, by sudden
Jerks or pulls as he is moving makes
him fall OF kneel. The animal remem-
bers the lessons, and by dint of whip
and carrot, ultimately performs them
at the mere command of the trainer.
The horse is taught to dance to music
in the same way with the foot brace
let's AS regards the learned horse,
who opens boxes and takes articles out
of them, here is how the animal is
trained to do it: Il first get a carrot, >
says M. Loyal. Il place it in box.
I then lead the horse to the box.
He smells the carrot, lifts up the lid OF
the box with his nose and takes out the
vegetable, which he is allowed to eat
The next day before letting the horse
free, show him a handkerchief full Of
bran. He takes and tries to eat it. I ther
let him loose. He runs to the box, but
bitter deception-it is empty. The
day after I resume the exercise. but
this time the horse finds the handker.
chief with the bran in the box. He
takes it out, and reward him with {
carrot I decrease the amount of brar
in the handkerchief every day. until il
the end put merely the Handkerchief
in the box. The horse brings it to mi
and gets his carrot. then reduce TIT
size of the carrot every day, until a
last give him nothing. The hors'
continues to perform with the handker
chief, in the hope of getting the car
rot. ~ Chicago NesOsboys' appeal.